"Forward line" ... future is looking quite "Chubworthy"

[Rayzorwire]

Tambling (correctly) has gotten games when out of form and not playing at a satisfactory level in the seniors. This season is probably the first he's started to show some consistency.

Tambling's been able to be hidden and nursed through games in non-key positions, key talls don't have the same luxury. He also came into football with the athletic ability to be able to compete, many don't. And finally, we didn't have anyone worth playing ahead of him.

Doesnt matter how many times Schultz kicks bags in the magoos. He's been around long enough to know we cant build a team around him. Add Pettifer to that list.

Schulz has improved a lot, he's just not finishing off his work in front of goal, but we know he can. He's showed courage, improved his fitness, and adapted pretty well to playing in defence. At the very least he keeps the pressure on all our other young talls.

And if you were paying attention, there was a lot of enthusiasm after we played the Dogs and the Hawks, a game we should have won and a game we lost. Bringing Pettifer and Tivendale back in is what lit the board up

Tivendale came back 5 games after then, for one match - his last. His VFL form compared to youngsters like Edwards getting single figure possessions at senior level earned him one last crack. He blew it and now is gone.

Pettifer was a similar scenario, but again, he didn't come back in until three rounds after the games you mention, and again, only briefly. You don't lose games because of one player, and he wasn't terrible.

We've had a pattern of not playing out games, so giving senior bodies (who should have been hungrier than they were) a brief crack to try and overcome that a little is hardly bad coaching.

 

[turtle27]

Back on topic.

I was sitting watching Terry on FC last night, and was thinking the exact same thing when Gary starting talking about the Tigers. For the remainder of the year, we must have three certain starters every week in our forward line:

Hughes, Jack, and Morton. Oh, and Browny .

 

[emperor]

1st quarter i think we went inside 50 11 times for 9.1 ... if that dosn`t give you a rise in the groin region nothing will

We just looked like a football team that could do some real damage and has a heap of improvement left in it ... how often in our lifetimes have we able to say that ?

didn't actually see the game live iddy as I had footy...but needless to say when I walked into the opposition rooms and saw the game on Fox it was midway through the third and then I saw the stats...Morton 5...Hughes 5...I was pointing north pretty quick

 

[Bifrost]

It was bloody exciting to see that's for sure. I reckon it was Cleaver's hair which did it for him. There hasn't been a coiffure like that in a forward line since Dunstall.

But what excited me most about these three guys was not just their leading, marking and making it count - but their crumbing off packs and snaps at goal. Each of Morton, Reiwoldt and Hughes snapped goals off the turf which would have made the commentators bang on about how "mercurial" it was if Browny had done it.

I'm pretty excited about the future of the forward line and the backline isn't looking too bad either if Thursty can stay injury-free and Tambling gets a run off half-back.

As mentioned the midfield is shaping up nicely as well. I predict Cotch will be a star, much as Deledio is shaping up as, but as with most early stars, Cotch's second season will probably be a little quieter as he gets more attention. It'll be interesting to see how teams match up on a midfield with Foley, Deledio and Cotchin in it. And hey - though he may be a bit older, Tuck is not exactly a second stringer himself.

 

[Roachy8]

I think it was Brian Royal when interviewed at quarter time who said (quite honestly) that we knew we could kick a winning score if we got more inside 50's because we rated our forward line more dangerous than Ports defence.
It tightened up didn't it but our forward efficiency was excellent.

ASSUMING Cleve & to a lesser degree Mitch build consistency now, we have the following in our forward rotations:

Cleve - FF should be his now (if he wants it)
Mitch - very dangerous & "hard at it"
Jack - Glues them together and brings everyone else into the game
Browny - no more needs to be said
Richo - ditto
Cotch - Too smart not to average 1 - 2 goals per game whilst resting
Lids - Same but provides a "left field" option from the goal square if really needed
Polak - Can be thrown down to take a pack mark
Simmo - When fit drifts forward to kick the odd one
+
Goal-kicking crummers & mid-fielders (and half backs)
Tucky
Axel
Bling
Edwards - to come back soon... certainly next year
Newman
Sanchez - (I like him more attacking through the middle rather than deep down back)

I am sure I have missed a few...

So yeah, if things continue to develop & the youngsters gain more confidence as well as obviously experience, our front half is starting to bare it's teeth.

(So therefore "chubworthy")

 

[Goldust]

That was what was so frustrating about Joel Bowden ripping the hand brake on with about 12 minutes to go

Our potency was something to behold on Saturday .... been much improved all year actually .

I know the logic and all with what JB and Terry were doing ... we have struggled to run games out and we just desperately wanted the win ... but given our heads and confidence i think its one we could have run away with ... in time and with more experience it will come i guess

1st quarter i think we went inside 50 11 times for 9.1 ... if that dosn`t give you a rise in the groin region nothing will

We just looked like a football team that could do some real damage and has a heap of improvement left in it ... how often in our lifetimes have we able to say that ?

My views on this are well documented, Iddy, ol' buddy!! Attack, attack, attack. None of this negative, slowdown rubbish to try and rundown the clock. It got us a win three years ago against the Crows, but has not served us well since. See the Bulldogs game. I cannot for the life of me work out why a team that had worked itself to be in a position to be three plus goals up couldn't have easily scored another to put it beyond doubt.
If you're attacking and it's succedding - keep doing it!

 

[telsor]

Hmm...and just a few weeks back, everyone was saying how desperately we needed to draft a key forward, and how we 'never' pick up KPs...

Not saying it shouldn't be in the mix come next draft, but 'need' is another matter.

 

[tugga]

That was what was so frustrating about Joel Bowden ripping the hand brake on with about 12 minutes to go

Our potency was something to behold on Saturday .... been much improved all year actually .

I know the logic and all with what JB and Terry were doing ... we have struggled to run games out and we just desperately wanted the win ... but given our heads and confidence i think its one we could have run away with ... in time and with more experience it will come i guess

1st quarter i think we went inside 50 11 times for 9.1 ... if that dosn`t give you a rise in the groin region nothing will

We just looked like a football team that could do some real damage and has a heap of improvement left in it ... how often in our lifetimes have we able to say that ?

Bang on the money as usual Iddy.
Hey when you're 10 points up with five minutes to go, what's the best way to ensure you win? Answer: kick two more goals and completely kill the game off and rip out their hearts.
Notice how the Bummers surrendered their lead on sunday and then proceeded to go all-out attack? Ended up winning by 35.
That's the thing that frustrated me most about our draw with the Dogs. We had the penache to kick 20 goals for the day and then we put the handbrake on with five still to play. I would have thought that if we can kick 20 goals up to that stage, that another one wasn't beyond us. That's all we needed in those last five minutes. One goal.

 

[CoggaRules]

Let me start this off by saying that for someone of my age that has had thier heart broken so often by this football club it`s with great trepidation that i will go and get ahead of myself when lauding largely unproven talent at our football club ...

BUT

Mitch Morton .... Jack Riewoldt ..... Cleve Hughes

One game i know ... against a team that has waved the white flag now ... (but they hadn`t Saturday)

Three kids who can actually "Kick the f..kin thing straight" ...

Three kids with great hands who really hit the packs and have some "Balls" about them .

Three kids who really know how to read it and put themselves in the right spots

Three kids who all play differently to each other and are going to be very hard to match up on the in future . Giving us multi dimensions ....

With Foley , Cotchin and Deledio feeding these guys i think the footy gods might be finally about to smile on us big time ... all they need now is to be coached correctly

Am i getting ahead of myself or is this exuberance warranted ?

dude, how long have we been screaming to get a look at this group together in the big time? And??? i wasnt watching the game on saturday, but i was listening....i have waited forever to hear those 3 names been talked about as ____ing "dangerous', "menacing", "slick", "to big", "to strong" etc etc....at ____ing last!!!!!!!!

Morton, 10 minutes of footy and the Port brains trust is hitting the whiteboard with headaches. Can you see the difference with his predecessor?

 

[1980]

Tambling's been able to be hidden and nursed through games in non-key positions, key talls don't have the same luxury. He also came into football with the athletic ability to be able to compete, many don't. And finally, we didn't have anyone worth playing ahead of him.



Schulz has improved a lot, he's just not finishing off his work in front of goal, but we know he can. He's showed courage, improved his fitness, and adapted pretty well to playing in defence. At the very least he keeps the pressure on all our other young talls.



Tivendale came back 5 games after then, for one match - his last. His VFL form compared to youngsters like Edwards getting single figure possessions at senior level earned him one last crack. He blew it and now is gone.

Pettifer was a similar scenario, but again, he didn't come back in until three rounds after the games you mention, and again, only briefly. You don't lose games because of one player, and he wasn't terrible.

We've had a pattern of not playing out games, so giving senior bodies (who should have been hungrier than they were) a brief crack to try and overcome that a little is hardly bad coaching.

I dont buy this team balance/giving senior bodies a crack nonsense for a second.

Team balance works when you have senior players that a) give a sh it and b) arent used to losing and c) dont try to get their stats up at the expense of the team

Team balance doesnt work at Richmond because we have an ingrained culture of losing and selfishness amongst our senior players.

Thats why we should stick with the forward line which is the subject of this topic for the rest of the year (barring injuries)

Fixing the culture has been what's held us back for long enough.

 

[Goldust]

I dont buy this team balance/giving senior bodies a crack nonsense for a second.

Team balance works when you have senior players that a) give a sh it and b) arent used to losing and c) dont try to get their stats up at the expense of the team

Team balance doesnt work at Richmond because we have an ingrained culture of losing and selfishness amongst our senior players.

Thats why we should stick with the forward line which is the subject of this topic for the rest of the year (barring injuries)

Fixing the culture has been what's held us back for long enough.

THE thing I see was when young Jack and Morton were in the side the first time 'round, we were playing an exciting and enthusiastic brand of football, albeit not winning. But Blind Freddy could see we were progressing. We turned them over and went back to a certain you know who and the same old habits (and results) eventuated!
I genuinely feel that when the ball is pumped forward these days, we are a chance of either:
1. Having a player other than Richo take a mark.
2. Trapping the ball in for a decent period of time, instead of watching it rebound out thre etimes quicker than it arrived.
I've stood and watched for too long as the ball just made its way out of our forward line due to a lack of accountability and pressure.
No more!

 

[CoggaRules]

THE thing I see was when young Jack and Morton were in the side the first time 'round, we were playing an exciting and enthusiastic brand of football, albeit not winning. But Blind Freddy could see we were progressing. We turned them over and went back to a certain you know who and the same old habits (and results) eventuated!
I genuinely feel that when the ball is pumped forward these days, we are a chance of either:
1. Having a player other than Richo take a mark.
2. Trapping the ball in for a decent period of time, instead of watching it rebound out thre etimes quicker than it arrived.
I've stood and watched for too long as the ball just made its way out of our forward line due to a lack of accountability and pressure.
No more!

3. Having a player(Morton) who sees an opportunity and swoops on it.
As opposed to you know who, who sees an opportunity and waits for it to come to him..after it went passed him.

 

[IDGAF]

Pettifer was a similar scenario, but again, he didn't come back in until three rounds after the games you mention, and again, only briefly. You don't lose games because of one player, and he wasn't terrible.

there was a band in the 80`s called "Funboy 3" who did a duet with Bananarama called "It aint what you do its the way that you do it"

Whilst i will always argue till i`m blue in the face about Pettfers lack of results .... his squeamishness and softness are a cancer to our football team that needs chemotherapy of a very urgent nature

Waves the white flag quicker than Gaspar ever did .... arivderci Petts

 

[villain]

there was a band in the 80`s called "Funboy 3" who did a duet with Bananarama called "It aint what you do its the way that you do it"

Whilst i will always argue till i`m blue in the face about Pettfers lack of results .... his squeamishness and softness are a cancer to our football team that needs chemotherapy of a very urgent nature

Waves the white flag quicker than Gaspar ever did .... arivderci Petts

bon voyage pettrified expect a phone call from your manager when your half tanked on the footy trip..............kayne u hav been delisted........

 

[Darth_Tiger]

bon voyage pettrified expect a phone call from your manager when your half tanked on the footy trip..............kayne u hav been delisted........

wouldnt be surprised if we got a trade for him. he was right up there for inside 50s over the last 2 years. there might be some coach out there foolish enough to take a punt. i backed the boy for many years, but he never really learned the art of working hard when the opposition have the ball. mitchy is an upgrade for sure.

 

[1980]

there was a band in the 80`s called "Funboy 3" who did a duet with Bananarama called "It aint what you do its the way that you do it"

Whilst i will always argue till i`m blue in the face about Pettfers lack of results .... his squeamishness and softness are a cancer to our football team that needs chemotherapy of a very urgent nature

Waves the white flag quicker than Gaspar ever did .... arivderci Petts

RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLMMMMMMMMMMFFFFFFAO
@ bringing a Bananarama song into it

U Child of the 80s

 

[Goldust]

3. Having a player(Morton) who sees an opportunity and swoops on it.
As opposed to you know who, who sees an opportunity and waits for it to come to him..after it went passed him.

For example, that goal in the second I think it was when he marked and played on and kicked a goal across his body. Poetic!!! I couldn't see Petts doing that. I would have had time to go to the back, grab myself two beers and a hot dog and get back to my seat to see him start his approach to goal from a set shot. Good to see some flair in our approach!

 

[THE_GUN]

i have backed pettifer for years, not any more he is gone.
we will get a trade for him possibly a 3rd rounder
either to carlton ,melbourne , port , st kilda
that would mean it was a staight swap for mitch........ well done miller

 

[HighFlyer]

I'll play Devil's advocate. It was pretty hard for us watching tv to tell what real conditions in that last quarter the players faced upfield.TV gives you a partial picture of the game.

Moving it on quick obviously works for us but it wasn't just Joel who slowed the play down in the last 15 mins. Our entire Defense slowed it down.

David Parkin was commentating on fox at the time and he was livid with port. One of his comments was something along the lines of blaming the team "without the ball" for the tempo football, he was getting hot under the collar pointing out players whose man on man was poor or non existent in the dieing minutes. I think OX on Sen was calling Port cheaters for most of the game.

Personally if you can kick backwards to two or three un marked players it suggest that the opposition is flooding numbers back. We may not have been entirely to blame for the tempo change.

 

[Darth_Tiger]

Port had our men covered upfield. thats why we were chipping it back and forth.

 

[Roachy8]

I'll play Devil's advocate. It was pretty hard for us watching tv to tell what real conditions in that last quarter the players faced upfield.TV gives you a partial picture of the game.

Moving it on quick obviously works for us but it wasn't just Joel who slowed the play down in the last 15 mins. Our entire Defense slowed it down.

David Parkin was commentating on fox at the time and he was livid with port. One of his comments was something along the lines of blaming the team "without the ball" for the tempo football, he was getting hot under the collar pointing out players whose man on man was poor or non existent in the dieing minutes. I think OX on Sen was calling Port cheaters for most of the game.

Personally if you can kick backwards to two or three un marked players it suggest that the opposition is flooding numbers back. We may not have been entirely to blame for the tempo change.

It does raise the whole issue of "flooding the mid-field" or "setting up a zone" in the mid-field when trying to force an error from the attacking team, to quickly regain the ball. (Usually adopted by teams trying to come from behind and "snatch" a win)

Zoning is your typical basketball analogy and this is where the irony comes in. (Having played quite a few games of hoops in my time)

If you are behind in basketball, to force a turnover and get the ball back the last thing you do is drop back to a zone.
Quite the contrary, you either man-up & if your guy does not have the ball, you "deny" him the ball by defending him away from any easy pass receive.
The other option is to go to a zone press where you actually over commit the number of defenders directly around the ball and "hassle" a mistake out of the ball carrier. The only place you allow free men is way down in offence where any sort of pass would be a massive risk.

So... Roachy8's plan to pressure the ball away from defenders chipping it around:

Man up all over the ground except for your FB & Back Pockets. They come forward to the midfield and place extra pressure directly in the areas the defender will be kicking.
Body to body man-to-man everywhere else & if the FF & Forward Pockets follow you down, well all the better because it would totally clog up the mid-field with 36 bodies.

Obviously a risk exists by exposing your FB line to any sort of "fast break" (another BB term now used in footy... yuk) but there is also massive risk on the team with the ball to make the play rather than just holding on to the frigging pill! (Which everyone hates)

Anyway... WTF do I know?

 

[davemills]

There's a beautiful irony in the fact that while you're still cyber-winking and making snide comments about Wallace's coaching ability, your weekly arousal is coming courtesy of his intelligence and capability as a senior coach, player developer and list manager.

Here here...

 

[peggles]

Would be lovely to see Watts next to Cleve and Riewoldt up the ground...

Looking forward to Cleve backing it up.... let's not forget Schulz's "coming of age" against the Lions a few years back

agree with you there...having watts would be brilliant....hope we'll be in position to pick him up in the draft...certainly impressing in the U18 championships.....a different dimension to cleve and riewoldt up forward..